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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

On May 1st, I had the opportunity to preform my first wedding ceremony. Friends, Rob-o and Michelle tied the knot on Saturday afternoon on a pier over the lake. It was a great time leading them in the vows and watch two in love young people commit their lives to one another.

Rob-o cracks me up. It is funny, he and I talk a lot. Simply to say he and are talkers. As he and I waited before the friends and family we did what we normally do and that is talk. Than from the second row, a baby starting crying. Yes, that was my son, Landon. He was missing nap time, so Mommy stood in the back with our son.

As the ceremony started, one of Rob-o's groomsmen came by and said, "Still have time to jump over the rail," which caused he and I both to laugh.

It was a great time and I am so glad to have been apart of their wedding. Thanks, Rob-o and Michelle and may the Lord continue to be your focus.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I am pretty sure every parent I talk to reminds me that your kids, "grow up fast." I can't say I wasn't told, but it is so true. Sometimes I try to imagine when he would just lay on the floor and look at whatever was directly above him or when he didn't mind if I changed his diaper.

Kids really do grow up fast.

Landon is quickly approaching 10 months and he is in to everything. We did not baby proof fast enough, as some of you know (see the broken vase). We are scrambling now to get some baby proofing done. Did you know that it is really hard to install those baby proof deals on cabinets?

The other day Landon smashed his fingers in his hamper. It is one of those that is wooden and two pieces of wood fold apart to make it stand up on. As he was holding one of the legs he knocked it over; as he held on, the other leg closed on his pinkie and ring finger. Kari said she had to pull really hard, hard enough she thought she would pull his fingers off and that his fingers were flattened. I had a chance to come home and hold him for a few moments, but the heartache is indescribable. Later Kari asked me what we could to do prevent him from getting hurt. My only suggestion was to move into a bubble.

Landon eats almost anything, although we haven't tried jalapenos or salsa yet (he has been since he was 3 months old).

He has two different smiles. One is a flat grin (which his Grammy loves) and the other is big, usually mouth open and two shiny dimples. Its pretty cool to hear people say, "he is always smiling." What a joy!

Landon loves to laugh. He laughs because he is ticklish all over (especially his back) and just because. He loves laughing at sounds and faces. Currently my ringtone when Kari calls is Landon laughing as hard as he can at his Mommy.

He is now starting to stand up on his own. Landon crawls and walks (with his train or rocketship) fast across the room. If his Mommy is on the other side of the house, she can call his name and he will plow through anything to get to her.

In the morning I go get him and he always attacks Mommy first thing in the morning. After he makes sure she is awake he will come back to me and normally we brush our teeth together. He gets into those cabinets that aren't baby proofed and pulls out whatever he can find. Most of the time making sure he puts it in his mouth.

Having children is amazing. I am so thankful to live and work at a place where I can see him so much more than I imagine anywhere else. They grow up fast; so if you are about to have a little one, I am now echoing those that told me:

"Enjoy it now, because they grow up fast and before you know it they will be asking for the car keys."

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

After Dad got off work, we loaded the rocketship and I got buckled into my seat (I hate my car seat). Mommy reminded Daddy to pray for our trip, so we prayed as a family than we took off for Galveston. We traveled for about four hours. Traffic was light and Mommy was set on having Shrimp & Stuff for dinner; closing time is 8pm. We arrived on the Island just in time to have dinner were Mommy wanted. The food looked good, but all I had was a cracker. We checked into our hotel on the seawall and I got to see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time.

Monday morning I woke up at about 7:30am. I slept seven hours straight, giving Mommy and Daddy some good sleep. We got out early to explore the Island. Mommy told us a story about my Pawpaw (her dad) trading a hog for seafood. We stumbled on the place Sampson and Son's and Mom exclaimed, "This is where Dad traded the hog!" We pulled in, near the pier and Mom insisted we take pictures in front of the store front. We talked to a man named Don, a nice guy, who took our picture with Galveston Bay and the shrimp boats behind us. Don told us about the 78 year old shrimp boat captain Sampson and Son's buys all their shrimp from; he was across the bay culling through his days catch. Don said, "Go over there and watch him. Tell 'em Don sent ya." We walked over to the pier and watch Mr. Jerome pitch sting rays, little fish and sharks back into the water or into a pelicans mouth. After taking a few pictures we went over to Shrimp & Stuff for lunch.

After lunch we went to the candy store, La Kings on the Strand. I tried my first root beer float and rode a mechanical boat and horse. Than I experienced another exciting first, I got to swim in a large bathtub (swimming pool). After getting cleaned up in our room we went to a new restaurant Miller's Seawall Grill (new to us). Daddy really enjoyed his food, but Mommy, not so much. During our visit to Miller's, Dad and I walked around the restaurant talking with the other patrons (I was getting sleepy). As I rode back to the hotel, outside my window was a full moon over the gulf. This sight made a beautiful picture to the end of our wonderful day.

Landon slept a straight eight hours waking up into day two about 5:30am. We took a little nap, but got up in time to watch the dsunrise; another beautiful sight of Galveston. We ate some breakfast and than went back to the room for a nap. Aunt Ashley, cousins Daniel and Lydia came to visit (along with a new friend Katherine.). We ate skimp & stuff for lunch and than hit the stand. We went down to the candy store again and had some ice cream. On our way back to the car we signed up for a free cruise. More details to come on day three. Than went the beach with Ashley and kids. It was Landon's first time to dip his feet in the gulf of Mexico an play in the sand. After just a little bit of sun and sand we headed back to the room for a bath and a nap. For dinner we headed to Rain Forest Cafe.

Wednesday we went to a new place (well they are all new to me) called Bennos. Daddy really loves boudin and that was one of the menu items. We has to eat fast, but the food was great. Daddy says we will be going back to Bennos again soon. We ate fast because we went to a presentation. As I mentioned earlier we signed up for a free cruise, but first we had to go through a presentation. After the presentation we did receive a $40 American Express Card, 5 day cruise, and 3 nights stay at a resort. From what I understand, we will be playing another vacation sometime in the near future. Later that evening we had dinner with Blaine and Lauren at Landry's on the seawall. We enjoyed a good dinner and great conversation with my new friends. I did have a chance to put on a show while we were there. Daddy thought it would be funny if I tried a lemon. I didn't like it (of course) and made a bunch of funny faces and several people got a few laughs (not Mommy though).

Thursday morning Mommy and Daddy packed up while I napped. With one last trip to Shrimp & Stuff (I think Mommy and Daddy like Shrimp & Stuff), we enjoyed our last meal in Galveston. Before we left the Island, we made two more stops. One of them was at Murdoch's Bathhouse. I got my first souvenirs and Daddy picked up a history of the Island book (Hurricane Ike destroyed Murdoch's in 2008). For our last stop, Mommy and Daddy took me to Moody Gardens Aquarium for the first time. We looked at sharks, stingrays, but my favorite were the penguins. They swim right by the glass that I was leaning on and I think maybe one of them winked at me. When I got bored, I chased Mommy and the stroller. It was a fun and relaxing vacation. On our way home I got a little fussy, I mean I had already been in the car for two and a half hours, so Mommy and Daddy decided to stop in Columbus. My family, the Frei's (I mentioned earlier), said we could swing by for dinner. What we thought would just be dinner, turned into us staying the night. I had fun playing with Daniel and Lydia that evening and the next morning.

I hope you enjoyed my telling of The Hellums Family Vacation: I. Soon enough, our next vacation will include my little brother, Hellums Baby Boy Number Two. Have a great day.

This afternoon Landon and I are hanging out in the car, in a parking lot. Actually, Landon is asleep and Kari ran into a store.

We just went to the doctor for Landon's nine month appointment. No shots, but there was a finger prick to take a blood sample. The prick wasn't so bad, but the squeezing the blood out part was painful. Landon cried pretty good for several minutes. About a week ago he was diagnosed with two ear infections; as of today they have not cleared up.

Sweet Quotes:

Jesus said, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Luke 10:27)"I didn't know that cool was just a myth and that one person was just as beautiful and meaningful as another." Donald Miller"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." C.S. Lewis

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." J. R. R. Tolkien

"It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important." Martin Luther King Jr.

"If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world." C.S. Lewis"If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart." Pope Benedict XVI